This document explains how an administrator can set up a web service for users to access a service. Each user will have a specific and unique security key (also known as a "token") to access the service.

Enabling web service function documentation

Security keys page with documentation link

Enabling web service function documentation (also on the Manage protocols page) results in user-specific web service documentation being available for each user on their Security keys page. This option is mainly useful to web service client developers. If nobody is creating a web service client, there is no need to enable this feature.

Creating a service

If none of the pre-build web services match your needs, you can create a custom service i.e. select which of the standard web service functions are available via that service.

You can enable only the specific functions that you need to expose, so not compromising on security.

'Authorised users only' - If enabled, you will need to select the authorised users manually. Otherwise all users with appropriate permissions are allowed

'Required capability' - If enabled, any user accessing the web service will be checked against this selected capability. (This is just an additional optional security layer.)

Enter a name and check Enabled

Click the button 'Add service'

Adding functions to the service

Adding functions to the service

Your service is currently empty and doesn't do anything. Web service functions need to be added. Your choice will be dictated by what you allow the external application to do. For this example, select 'Create group'.

Click 'Add functions' link

Select 'create group' function and click the 'Add functions' button

Note that deprecated functions can not be added to services although the ones that are already part of a service can remain there until they are removed from Moodle codebase.

You should be back to the service functions list. 'Required capabilities' are indicated for each function. Users need the required capabilities to run a function. The function descriptions in the API Documentation can also give you more information about the required capabilities (Administration > Site administration > Plugins > Web services > API Documentation).

Enabling capabilities

The final step is to grant appropriate permissions. The following capabilities should be allowed:

The required capabilities for the web service functions. These required capabilities are listed when you add a function to the service. For more information about roles and capabilities, read the Manage roles documentation.

Alternative settings

Authorise only specific users

Select Authorised users link (the service must have been set as Authorised users only in the Edit link)

Select some users and click Add

Moodle indicates if some capabilities need to be assigned to an authorised user. Moreover if you click on the authorised user fullname, you can set up some specific options: IP restriction and Valid until.

Create a token

This feature allows you to create a token for specific user. It can be useful if a user doesn't have the moodle/create:token capability. This is also the only way to create a token for an administrator. For security reason, tokens are not automatically generated in the administrator security keys page.

As you created a token for this user, you do not need to assign "moodle/webservice:createtoken" to him/her.
Finally, note that, as for authorised users, you can also set IP restriction and Valid until on a token.